Judge seals affidavit of Maine man in teen's death

This June 2012 photo provided by the Penobscot County Jail via Maine State Police shows Kyle Dube, of Orono, Maine. Dube, 20, was charged Tuesday, May 21, 2013 with murder in the death of Nichole Cable, who was last seen May 12, 2013. Police say a body found in the woods on Monday night is likely that of the high school student. (AP Photo/Penobscot County Jail via Maine State Police)

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Police laid out their case Wednesday against a man accused of killing a 15-year-old girl whose body was found in a wooded area miles from her home, but the details remained hidden from public view after a judge sealed a crucial affidavit at the request of the suspect’s lawyer.

Kyle Dube, 20, showed no emotion as he made an initial court appearance Wednesday, a day after he was charged with murder when a body believed to be Nichole Cable’s was found in Old Town. A bail hearing will be held later.

Justice William Anderson ordered a state police affidavit impounded at the request of Dube’s lawyer, Steve Smith, who said he was concerned about pretrial publicity. The affidavit will remain sealed until after a grand jury can consider the case, the judge said.

Several of Nichole’s friends were in court wearing neon-yellow shirts — her favorite color — in her honor.

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“He seemed really nice in the beginning,” Jessica Brideau, 20, of Old Town, said of Dube, who worked at an organization that cares for people with disabilities. “I just never thought he would do something like this. It sickens me.”

Ashley Pattershall, 16, a sophomore at Old Town High School, said she last spoke with Nichole on May 11, the night before she disappeared.

“She said, `I’ll see you at school,”’ Pattershall said.

Dube was already in jail serving a sentence for fleeing police on a motorcycle at more than 100 mph when he was charged Tuesday. Investigators believe Dube is “solely responsible for her death,” said state police spokesman Steve McCausland.

Dube knew Nichole, according to her friends, but the nature of his relationship with her remained unclear. So, too, the role of social media. Nichole’s family has said she vanished after going outside her house to see someone she’d met on Facebook.

Friends said Wednesday that someone set up a fictitious Facebook account under another man’s name for the purpose of reaching out to area teenagers. They called the fake account was unsettling.

“I’m going home to just delete a bunch of people off there,” Jessica Brideau said. “I don’t know who to trust. It’s hard to trust people on those networks.”

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson confirmed that social media was an aspect of the case, but he declined to elaborate.

Several of Nichole’s family members attended the hearing Wednesday but left without speaking to reporters.

Tyler-Ann Harris, 16, who described herself as Nichole’s best friend, said a day earlier that Dube and Nichole planned to see each other the weekend she vanished, before he was required to report to jail. Harris, who attended Old Town High School with Nichole, said she was surprised that Dube was charged in her death because she thought the two got along.

Dozens of law enforcement officers, using aircraft and dogs, and hundreds of civilian volunteers had spent days searching for the teen, who lived in Glenburn. The body believed to be Nichole’s was found Monday night by a warden who was searching the woods with a dog.

Although autopsy results are still pending, law enforcement officials say they believe she was killed the day she disappeared.